"Hansen, Maxine Joy - The Letter" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hansen Maxine Joy)

"No, no, no, no, no," Kathryn admonished herself.
"Yes!" the voice was strong, clear, and insistent. "Help find me, Kathryn. Help find me...for him."
Kathryn Cartwright came to the corner, checked the traffic, and made the right turn. ["#TOC"]
Chapter Six
"What!" Colt looked slack jawed into the determined face of Kathryn Cartwright .
"I'm going to find Anne Kaufman. And, as much as I appreciate all you've done for me and your kind hospitality, I don't want to intrude on you and Jesse anymore. So, I'm moving back into the hotel as soon as I've packed my bags and said goodbye to Jesse. Then I'm going to spend one more week in Florida and see what I can do."
"This is crazy. First of all you're not moving out."
"Colt, I've..."
"Just hold on a minute," he forestalled her. "You're here, a woman by yourself all alone in a strange city, hundreds... no thousands of miles from LA This is not good. As long as you stay in Clearwater, you stay in this house. Jesse loves having you here."
"Colt, I'm a big girl, relatively well traveled, independent, and I won't run into anything I can't handle."
"And another thing," he interrupted her again as if he hadn't just heard her comments. "This decision to find Anne Kaufman...if that's her real name. What if she doesn't want to be found? She obviously didn't back then. How are you going to find her? What if she has a husband who doesn't take too kindly to you showing up with her old boyfriend? What if finding her just stirs up a lot of pain for her and for Jim Hazlett? What if..."
Neither of them heard the patio door open and shut as Jesse ran in from the pool, her body dripping wet, her eyes alight with excitement.
"Dad, did you ask her yet?"
"Not now Jesse."
"Ask me what?" chimed in Kathryn.
"Dad, it's getting late. You've got to ask her so we have enough time to buy everything."
"Buy what? Ask me what?"
"Jesse, not now. Go outside and play." Colt commanded.
Jesse looked from her father to Kathryn and rolled her eyes. "Oh brother! Dad, I'm eleven and a half years old and I'm just about to turn twelve. You haven't told me to go outside and play since I was eight."
"Will one of you tell me what is going on here?" Kathryn ordered.
"Sure. Dad got this great idea to invite Dr. Hazlett to the house for dinner tomorrow night. He used to own this house and dad said he might like to see the new roses and how we've fixed things up. Dad said you might help make dinner."
Kathryn turned to Colt, a self satisfied smile on her face.
"So...," she pointed an accusatory finger at him. "So, so, so..."
"Kathryn." Colt's voice held a note of warning.
"I'm crazy am I because I want to find Anne Kaufman. What about this, what about that," she mimicked. "You, Colt Riverton, are just as bad as I am. No you are worse. Planting roses, inviting him to dinner. I bet next you're going to go out and get a lilac bush."
"Dad said..."
"Jesse!"
Jesse knew when to shut up, but even she was giggling.
"Look, it's just a friendly little invitation. He seemed a bit lonely and misplaced in that apartment and I thought he'd like a little dinner with us and a look around the old place," Colt defended himself. "Just a one time thing. And you don't have to cook if you don't want to."
"What!" Kathryn said, "and miss a chance to match my culinary skills to all those visiting neighborhood homemakers. On the other hand, we could type up a little memo and send it around to those more than willing cooks to see what they can come up with on a moments notice."
Jesse was laughing wholeheartedly now.
"Jesse Riverton!"
"Right, I think I'll go out to 'play' dad. Seems like you've got everything under control here." Jesse scampered away leaving wet trail marks in her wake.
By now Kathryn was laughing too, and Colt let the pleasure of the vibrant sound wash over him like a cool summer rain. He couldn't keep his own face straight.
"Okay, say it."
"Say what?" Kathryn feigned innocence.
"I'm just as crazy as you are. I'm a crazy, incurable romantic just like you."
"Now was I going to say that?"
"Yes, you were." Colt grabbed her hand.
"Well, you are you know."
"I know, I know!" He caught her other hand and held both of them together in the warmth of his own.
"Stay," he whispered.
"I can't," she told him.
"Yes you can."
"I shouldn't."
"I know. But I promise I'll be a good boy. And I promise I'll help you find Anne Kaufman. And at least I know you'll be safe."
"Safe?" The irony of the word barely registered as her world drowned in the fan of his warm breath mingling with her own. As his lips came down on her own too willing mouth, all the promises were forgotten.
Kathryn's mother claimed that cutting vegetable was very therapeutic and a terrific remedy for stress. Kathryn would laugh and tease her mother, but Joy Cartwright stood firm on the matter. Now, as the noon day sun softened in intensity, Kathryn had to finally agree. If not entirely therapeutic, it was helpful. One had to pretty much stay in present time, peeling, slicing, scraping without mishap. Vegetables didn't demand much more out of you, they didn't pressure you to get done, to hurry with the task, they let you set your own pace. They didn't talk back, and except for onions which could at times be a little difficult, they were easy to get along with. Sometimes you could even cheat and drift a little, thinking of some triviality, something mildly pleasurable. Nothing too heavy or mind boggling.
Kathryn glanced over to where Jesse was peeling and slicing apples for a homemade pie. She was totally immersed in the job, her small tongue darting out here and there as she made sure every piece was just so. She really was a treasure. Colt was a very lucky man and her mother a very lucky woman. Any couple would be blessed to have a child like Jesse. Colt! No, wrong subject. Definitely not part of the cutting vegetable routine. Something mundane. Earlier this morning some furniture had arrived from the store, which completed the guest bedroom set. Fortunately, the bed from the set had arrived on a priority basis a day after the initial shopping spree. Thus Colt was able to sleep in the comfort of his own bed. Kathryn groaned aloud.
"Kathryn, are you okay?" Jesse asked in concern.